Alcaeusof MYTILENE(Ἀλκαῖος), of MYTILENE, in the island of Lesbos, the earliest of the Aeolian lyric
poets, began to flourish in the 42nd Olympiad when a contest had commenced between the nobles
and the people in his native state. Alcaeus belonged by birth to the former party, and warmly
espoused their cause. In the second year of the 42nd Olympiad (B. C.
611), we find the brothers of Alcaeus, namely, Cicis and Antimenidas, fighting under
Pittacus against Melanchrus, who is described as the tyrant of Lesbos, and who fell in the
conflict. (D. L. 1.74, 79; Strab. xiii. p.617; Suidas, s. v.
Κίκις and Πίττακος; Etymol. M. p. 513, s. v.
Κίθαρος, instead of Κίκις; Clinton, Fasti, i. p. 216.) Alcaeus does not appear
to have taken part with his brothers on this occasion : on the contrary, he speaks of
Melanchrus in terms of high praise. (Fr. 7, p. 426, Blomfield.) Alcaeus is mentioned in
connexion with the war in Troas, between the Athenians and Mytilenaeans for the possession of
Sigeum. (B. C. 606.) Though Pittacus, who commanded the army of
Mytilene, slew with his own hand the leader of the Athenians, Phrynon, an Olympic victor, the
Mytilenaeans were defeated, and Alcaeus incurred the disgrace of leaving his arms behind on
the field of battle; these arms were hung up as a trophy by the Athenians in the temple of
Pallas at Sigeum. (Hdt. 5.95; Plut. de Herod.
Malig. s. 15, p. 858; Strab. xiii. pp. 599, 600; Euseb. Chron.
Olym. 43.3; Clinton, Fasti, i. p. 219.) His sending home the news of this
disaster in a poem, addressed to his friend Melanippus (Fr. 56, p. 438, Blomf.), seems to shew
that he had a reputation for courage, such as a single disaster could not endanger; and
accordingly we find him spoken of by ancient writers as a brave and skilful warrior. (Anthol.
Palat. 9.184; Cic. Tusc. Disp. 4.33 ; Hor.
Carm. 1.32. 6; Athen. 15.687.) He thought that his lyre
was best employed in animating his friends to warlike deeds, and his house is described by
himself as furnished with the weapons of war rather than with the instruments of his art.
(Athen. 14.627; Fr. 24, p. 430, Blomf.) During the period which
followed the war about Sigeum, the contest between the nobles and the people of Mytilene was
brought to a crisis ; and the people, headed by a succession of leaders, who are called
tyrants, and among whom are mentioned the names of Myrsilus, Megalagyrus, and the Cleanactids,
succeeded in driving the nobles into exile. During this civil war Alcaeus engaged actively on
the side of the nobles, whose spirits he endeavoured to cheer by a number of most animated
odes full of invectives against the tyrants ; and after the defeat of his party, he, with his
brother Antimenidas, led them again in an attempt to regain their country. To oppose this
attempt Pittacus was unanimously chosen by the people as αἰσυμνήτης (dictator) or tyrant. He held his office for ten years (B. C. 589-579), and during that time he
defeated all the efforts of the exiled nobles, and established the constitution on a popular
basis; and then he resigned his power. (Strab. xiii. p.617;
Alcaeus, Fr. 23, p. 230, Blomf.; Arist. Rep. 3.9.5,
or 3.14; Plut. Amat. § 18, p. 763; D. L.
1.79; Dionys. v. p. 336, Sylb.) [PITTACUS.]
Notwithstanding the invectives of Alcaeus against him, Pittacus is said to have set him at
liberty when he had been taken prisoner, saying that " forgiveness is better than revenge."
(D. L. 1.76; Valer. Max. 4.1.6.) Alcaeus has not escaped the
suspicion of being moved by personal ambition in his opposition to Pittacus. (Strab. xiii. p.617.) When Alcaeus and Antimenidas perceived that
all hope of their restoration to Mytilene was gone, they travelled over different countries.
Alcaeus visited Egypt (Strab. i. p.37), and he
appears to have written poems in which his adventures by sea were described. (Hor. Carm. 2.13. 28.) Antimenidas entered the service of the king
of Babylon, and performed an exploit which was celebrated by Alcaeus. (Strab. xiii. p.617, Fr. 33, p. 433, Blomf.) Nothing is known of
the life of Alcaeus after this period; but from the political state of Mytilene it is most
probable that he died in exile.
Among the nine principal lyric poets of Greece some ancient writers assign the first place,
others the second, to Alcaeus. His writings present to us the Aeolian lyric at its highest
point. But their circulation in Greece seems to have been limited by the strangeness of the
Aeolic dialect, and perhaps their loss to us may be partly attributed to the same cause. Two
recensions of the works of Alcaeus were made by the grammarians Aristarchus and Aristophanes.
Some fragments of his poems which remain, and the excellent imitations of Horace, enable us to
understand something of their character.
Works
His poems, which consisted of at least ten books (Athen.
11.481), were called in general Odes, Hymns, or Songs (ᾄσματα).
Warlike or Patriotic Odes
Alcaeus' poems which have received the highest praise are his warlike or patriotic odes
referring to the factions of his state στασιωτικὰ or
διχοστασιαστικὰ, the " Alcaei minaces Camoenae" of
Horace. (Carm. 2.13. 27; Quint. Inst.
10.1.63; Dionys. de Vet. Script. Ecus. 2.8, p. 73, Sylb.)
Among the fragments of these are the commencement of a song of exultation over the death
of Myrsilus (Fr. 4, Blomf.), and part of a comparison of his ruined party to a disabled ship
(Fr. 2, Blomf.), both of which are finely imitated by Horace. (Carm.
1.37, 1.14.)
Editions
Many fragments are preserved, especially by Athenaeus (x. pp. 429, 430), in which the
poet sings the praises of wine. (Fr. 1, 3, 16, 18, 20, Blomf.; comp. Hor. Carm. 1.9.18.) Müller remarks, that "it may be
doubted whether Alcaeus composed a separate class of drinking songs (συμποτικὰ) ;... it is more probable that he connected every
exhortation to drink with some reflection, either upon the particular circumstances of the
time, or upon man's destiny in general."
Erotic Poems
Of his erotic poems we have but few remains. Among them were some addressed to Sappho; one
of which, with Sappho's reply, is preserved by Aristotle (Aristot. Rh. 1.9; Fr. 38, Blomf.; Sappho, fr. 30), and others to beautiful youths.
(Hor. Carm. 1.32. 10; Cic. de Nat.
Deor. 1.28, Tusc. Quaest. 4.33.)
Other Poems
Most of his remaining poems are religious hymns and epigrams. Many of his poems are
addressed to his friends individually.
Assessment
The poetry of Alcaeus is always impassioned. Not only with him, but with the Aeolic school
in general, poetry was not a mere art, but the plain and warm outpouring of the writer's
inmost feelings.
The metres of Alcaeus were generally lively, and his poems seem to have been constructed in
short single strophes, in all of which the corresponding lines were of the same metre, as in
the odes of Horace. He is said to have invented the well-known Alcaic strophe.
His likeness is preserved, together with that of Pittacus, on a brass coin of Mytilene in
the Roval Museum at Paris, which is engraved by Visconti. (Icon. Pl.
iii. No. 3.)
Editions
The fragments of Alcaeus were first collected by Mich. Neander in his " Aristologia
Pindarica," Basil. 1556, 8vo., then by Henry Stephens in his collection of the
fragments of the nine chief lyric poets of Greece (1557), of which there are several
editions, and by Fulvius Ursinus, 1568, 8vo. The more modern collections are
those by Jani, Halae San. 1780-1782, 4to.; by Strange, Halle, 1810,
8vo.; by Blomfield, in the "Museum Criticum," vol. i. p. 421, &c., Camb.
1826, reprinted in Gaisford's " Poetae Graeci Minores ;" and the most complete
edition is that of Matthiae, " Alcaei Mytilenaei reliquiae," Lips. 1827.
Additional fragments have been printed in the Rhenish Museum for 1829, 1833, and
1835; in Jahn's "Jahrbüch. für Philolog." for 1830; and
in Cramer's "Anecdota Graeca," vol. i. Oxf. 1835.
Further Information
(Bode, Geschichte der Lyrischen Dichtkunst der Hellenen, ii. p. 378,
&c.)
[P.S](author.P.S)]